if there is demand, that means the housing environment is better. many more people are needing to rent housing than in the recent past. maybe we are getting to more normal balance between people for whom buying a home makes sense and those for whom it's not the right decision at this time. so that has put a lot more pressure on rents and rental prices. rents are going up. that's really a problem at lower incomes where people are competing with a new group of people who have more money to spend and rents going up means a real problem for very low-income people. host: we talk about assistance and breaks for home buyers, but what about renters? what kind of assistance is out there for them? guest: we do have a public housing system and we have vouchers and other such assistance for individuals of low-income. only about a quarter of the people eligible for those programs actually are able to get the benefit. not because they don't qualify but because tre is just not enough money be appropriated to pay for it. host: here's a story in usa today this morni